Be Still My Beating Heart
by Iridescent Toxik
Summary: Last Sacrifice!Spoilers  Lissa couldn't believe that this had been a secret kept from the whole Moroi world. That only a select few knew of it. How could they have kept this such a secret? A Half-Strigoi and Half-Moroi woman. R&R please. First VA fanfic.


**Disclaimer: **The Vampire Academy Series is copyright to Richelle Mead and therefore no copyright infringement is intended.

**Author's Note: **Testing out my hand at a Vampire Academy fanfic. You will be meeting our beloved Vampire Academy character's along the way, this is just an establishing chapter. =] Please be helpful; read and review.

_**Chapter One: Secrets **_

"Miss Mrachnyĭ..." The voice broke the steely and cold silence that was permeating the air of the dining room. The voice was followed by the nerve wrecking creak of the heavy oak doors. A series of footsteps echoing throughout the room as the inquirer drew closer to the woman sitting at the far end of the table. "Miss Mrachnyĭ?"

"I heard you the first time." Came the sweet reply from the woman. She turned her icy, pale blue eyes up from the book that was laid on the table before her and offered a sweet smile. "Can I help you Gabriel?" She asked, letting the man run a finger over her cheek. She lifted her own hand, pressing it against his so that his caressed her cheek softly.

"Mister Mazur is here." Gabriel spoke softly, trying to remove his hand from Miss Mrachnyĭ's grip. He was a Guardian after all and touching this woman was...eerie. "Would you like me to show him in?" He asked, finally succeeding in removing his hand from her grip and took a step back. He couldn't help his initial action to brush his fingers over her cheek. Everything was so inviting about the woman.

"Please, show him to the sitting room. I'll be right there." The woman stood in a wave of cinnamon and vanilla scent. Her black-as-night curly hair fell to her hips in a perfect styled mess. She wore a thigh-length cherry red dress, it hugged her body, accentuating her minimal curves, pale skin and dark hair. The Guardian gave a curt nod of his head, but let his gaze linger on the woman's face before turning abruptly and leaving the dining room. The dark haired woman took her time closing her book, straightening all her stuff and brushing non-existent dirt off her dress.

Her feet padded softly across the laminate floor, pushing the oak doors opening when she reached them. They protested with a loud creak and when the fell shut, they did so just as loudly. Everything about this house was old and loud. It bothered her on the occasion, as things always seemed louder to her than a human. Walking down the hall, two Guardians feel into step behind her. They were quiet, but would she have expected anything else from two dhampir Guardians? With a small wave aimed over her shoulder, the woman pushed a door open into her sitting room.

A man stood looking out the window, which easily spanned one wall of the room. It gave a perfect view of the front yard. There was a small guard house at the only entrance to the property, while a stone wall crossed the front and disappeared off to the sides of the property. What the man couldn't see from the window was that the stone wall surrounded the whole vast expanse of the property, as did a few well trained Guardians. The man turned, a small smile on his face. He was wearing a pinstriped suit with a matching fedora and a red scarf.

"Lilith, it's a pleasure to see you again." Abe Mazur greeted, crossing the room and taking the woman's hand and placing a soft kiss on the inside of her palm.

Lilith smiled, "I've missed you. How was court? I wasn't expecting you so soon! I..." She moved forward to hug Abe, but he moved back and a small frown furrowed her brows- but disappeared just as quickly as it had come. "I'm sorry, sometimes I forget myself." Lilith apologized.

Abe gave a small nod and turn back to look out the window. The Guardians that had followed Lilith into the room stood near her, keeping an eye on her. "Lissa Dragomir has taken the Moroi throne." He stated his words careful and slow. He shot Lilith a brief look over his shoulder, watching for her reaction.

The dark haired woman crossed the room and sat on a rather antique looking sofa. She pulled her legs up and stretched them out over the expanse of the horrid vintage printed sofa. "Really?" There was a hint of glee in her voice, but she quickly hid all emotion of glee when Abe turned and frowned at her. Queen Tatiana had never been Lilith's biggest fan.

Abe sighed, running a hand over his face. "Yes."

"How did that happen? I was led to believe that Vasilisa Dragomir was the last Dragomir." Lilith commented, brushing her dark hair from her face with long delicate fingers.

"It seemed for quite some time that Queen Vasilisa was. But a young Moroi that went by the name Jillian Mastrano, came forward as the illegitimate child of Eric Dragomir." Abe explained. His attention directed to his watch and he sighed, "I have to go."

Lilith jumped up from the couch, "Go? You just got here!" She made a move towards Abe and was suddenly thrown to the ground by a force easily two times her weight. Her breath was knocked from her lungs as one of the Guardians pressed his knee into her back. Lilith hadn't even seen them move, but apparently they had thought she was a threat. A sudden surge of anger made red rings appear around the edges of Lilith's blue irises and she threw the Guardian off. With speed and ferocity that was nothing like a Moroi's, Lilith attacked the Guardian where he'd landed on the floor. She pinned him down, but her full strength wasn't available. It had been a while since she'd fed.

"Lilith! Enough!" Abe roared, opening the doors of the living room to let three other Guardians in. They subdued the woman easily as she thrashed and tried to fight. Abe took even strides towards where three Guardians had her subdued and grabbed her chin in his hand, forcing the Moroi woman to look at him. "Enough, Lilith." Though he frowned when he realized just how red the woman's eyes had turned. "I'll stay a while longer, just calm down. I don't want these men to hurt you."

Lilith frowned, jerking her chin from Abe's grip. All she saw was the blood; all she felt was the anger. But something wedged into her mind, and she took a few deep breaths. The vice like grip of the three Guardians holding her was uncomfortable, but she now knew why it was essential. "I lost control." Lilith choked out after a few minutes.

Abe sighed (it seemed he always did this in Lilith's presence), "Yes, you did." He confirmed, gave a small nod and the Guardians released Lilith with caution, but didn't give her a wide berth. "I thought you were getting better?" The man asked, and Lilith could have sworn he sounded worried.

"I haven't fed in a few days..." Lilith whispered, rubbing her arms that were sporting red handprints with her own hand, trying to ease the pain.

"Why?" There was a demanding tone to his voice.

"No blood has come for me."

Abe swore under his breath, then nodded, pulling out a cell phone. He walked into the foyer just off the sitting area and Lilith could hear him barking orders into his phone. He came back a few minutes later, "You'll have a delivery of blood in the next few hours." He looked at his watch again, "But I really must go."

Lilith nodded, hands dropping to her sides. "I understand..." She told him quietly. As Abe left the room, Lilith followed, but her Guardians gripped her arms just before she could come and nearer to the door. Abe had opened the front door and a strong, cool wind rushed through the foyer. "Abe..."

"What is it Lilith?" The man didn't turn to look at her.

"What will she have done to me?" Lilith asked.

Abe stopped in the process of shutting the door behind him, he turned to look at Lilith. "I believe Queen Vasilisa will do what is best for you, but equally what is best for her people. After all, it isn't every day that someone is faced with the fate of a half-moroi half-strigoi." And with that, Abe was gone, door slamming in his wake.

That's right, Lilith thought with a glum expression. Half-Moroi...Half-Strigoi. Something completely unique to the supernatural world. Two Guardians firmly took Lilith's arms, leading her out of the foyer and back to the dining room. She obliged, there was no reason to fight. It wasn't like anyone knew about her...The only people that knew the half-breed even existed where sworn to secrecy over the fact...Lilith's only friend was Abe, and Gabriel...Maybe even Sydney the Alchemist. The Guardians sat her down in the chair she'd been occupying earlier, and stepped back, taking positions behind her. Not to close, but close enough to stop her if she flipped.

That was the thing about being half-strigoi- she had aspects that were perfectly unique to them. Lilith had an aversion to sunlight (though it didn't kill her), her blue irises would ring with red under extreme hunger and anger, she was stronger than the average moroi or dhampir, and she had no magic. But she was also like a moroi in many ways, she was docile and elegant, and she had slight curves. Sadly, she adopted the Strigoi's thirst for blood, always thirsty. But she never got the appropriate amount of blood, they were scared that she'd become too strong or turn entirely Strigoi. They being the Alchemist and few Moroi that knew she existed.

The door to the dining room creaked open after an hour and Lilith looked up from the book that she'd continued reading and Gabriel walked in, "Miss Mrachnyĭ, your feeder is here."

Lilith gave Gabriel a small smile, "Please bring her in..." Lilith fed off of women only. She'd been told not to be so picky about the feeders that were brought to her, but after refusing to feed and becoming short tempered (and therefore more Strigoi-like) after being brought a male feeder, they'd wisely only brought female feeders from the moment on.


End file.
